4Kids is a name that no kid from the 90s or 00s could avoid.
The US production company was responsible for bringing countless hit anime shows into
the English market, including Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece and Sonic X.
At the turn of the millennium, 4Kids were king.
Riding high from the success of shows like Pokemon, they were named by Fortune magazine
as America's number 1 fastest-growing company.
However, jumping ahead to 2007, major falling profits saw the company placed on the FSB
100 Hall of Shame... quite the difference from their triumphant rule a few years earlier.
4kids rise and fall is iconic in the world of anime, and their failings can be attributed
to a combination of poor business decisions, bad luck and even a series case of financial
fraud.
To properly go into what happened though and why exactly we don't hear from 4Kids anymore,
we're going to have to go back to the lovable word of Pokemon, which 4Kids obtained the
license for starting from the first episode in 1998.
As I'm sure you're all aware, to call Pokemon a success would be an understatement.
The company struck gold with their licensing deal, which saw them produce all English versions
of the anime and movies.
Prior to this, one of their most successful shows was WMAC Masters, which was a live action
martial arts series, hosted by Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon Lee.
Two seasons and 26 episodes were produced before the show was cancelled due to low ratings
and low sales of the action figures.
With Pokemon however, the production company saw more success than they could have ever
imagined and this helped pave the way for 4Kids to acquire the licenses for more and
more Japanese anime, which they then adapted for English markets.
This adaptation process was something that was very controversial with fans familiar
with the original material, with 4Kids being notorious for their heavy editing of Japanese
shows to remove not just anything that could be seen as offensive, but also the removal
of most uses of text, as well as the alteration of Japanese themes to more Western ideals.
Other common 4Kids edits include toning down the use of weapons such as guns and blades,
the removal of blood and other scenes of violence, toning down suggestive content such as popular
character designs, plus anything else that could be seen as going against their family
friendly principles.
However, whilst not winning them any favours from their older audiences, this strict editing
of original material isn't the reason for their downfall.
You see, the company's troubles all began in early 2006 and once again involves the
Pokemon franchise.
Now, at this point in time, Pokemon was actually starting to decrease in popularity in the
Unites States and so Pokémon USA began looking for ways to cut costs.
This led to 4Kids being let go when their contract expired at the end of season 8 and
also saw many of the original Pokemon voice actors being recast.
With 4Kids losing their flag ship series, profits were naturally going to take a hit
and two years later we're right back at the FSB 100 "Hall of Shame".
This was followed a few months later with 4Kids announcing that they will be laying
off 15% of their work force, in addition to the early termination of their Fox programming
agreement, as well as various other reductions in operating expenses.
The company was hemorrhaging money and whilst they tried their best to adapt and continue,
their situation proceeded to get worse and in 2010 they were delisting from the New York
Stock Exchange.
This financial hell could be the reason why 4Kids were then found to have committed multiple
acts of fraud in relation to the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise and sued for 5 million dollars.
An audit showed that 4kids had made various secret licensing deals, which they then made
large amounts of money on but didn't disclose or give any of this profit to the original
Japanese creators.
This saw them have their Yu-Gi-Oh contract terminated, which at the time was their largest
franchise, and they were forced to pay up.
Then, only a few weeks later, 4Kids announced that they had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection in an attempt to reorganise the business and pay their debts.
4Kids then set out to sell their assets, which saw the emergence of two companies, Saban
Entertainment's Kidsco and Konami's 4K Acquisition.
The two companies started a bidding process on 4Kid's licences and on June 26th 2012 a
decision was finalised which saw their assets split between the two companies in a deal
worth 15 million dollars.
Through the deal, Konami gained the US rights to the Yu-Gi-Oh!
anime franchise, as well as all of 4Kids other Yu-Gi-Oh assets.
Saban on the other hand acquired the agreements for Dragon Ball Z Kai, Sonic X and Cubix,
plus CW Network's Saturday morning programming block.
Following the deal, 4Kids were able to pay off their debts and come out of bankruptcy.
However, with now most of their licensees gone, it wasn't going to be easy for them
to become successful again and they needed to make some big changes.
And so, changing their name to 4Licensing Corporation, the company unveiled their new
business venture
to
the world.
Unfortunately for 4Licensing, Isoblox didn't take off like they hoped.
The next few years saw 4Licensing fall on harder times than ever and just last year
they have now yet again filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
This time though will likely be the last time, with their press statement explaining that
"management does not currently anticipate any recovery for shareholders".
4kids editing practises are something that left a sour taste for many fans and, for those
who weren't aware of what happened to them and why we don't hear from 4kids anymore,
there it is.
That's how this once highly successful company came to an end.
Until next time, thank you for watching.